Baldwin Hills The Complete First Season

DVD Review

Paramount Home Entertainment

BET Home Entertainment

Released: July 29, 2008

Baldwin Hills is a very fun and enjoyable comedy-drama which takes a look at teenage life in Los Angeles. The idea of the show is to be an African American spin-off of the popular show Laguna Beach, as the first season was a success on BET.

BET Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment have presented Baldwin Hills: The Complete First Season on DVD, showcasing 11 privileged African-American teens growing up in what is known as the "Black Beverly Hills."

The show plays out very much like how Laguna Beach played out on MTV, with plenty of drama, a lot of fun, and loads of issues for these teens to deal with as they grow from teenagers to adults.

The cast of the show was put together nicely as they are very likeable and relatable.

The video quality for this release is very clean, but comes across a bit soft. This has to be expected though considering the limited budget of the show. Do not expect to be blown away, but the video transfer is still looking good.

The audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and comes across nicely, with good dialogue. Overall the audio comes across very clear and crisp throughout.

In terms of extras, you get some decent stuff which fans of the show are surely going to appreciate.

The extras on disc 1 include features with two of the characters from the show, Ashley and Sal, showing more about their lives, and how they live.

The second disc features extras which involve the creators more, as you are introduced to casting tapes, interviews, and more as to how the show was developed.

Baldwin Hills did a good job in its first season of getting established as a series. Hopefully next season can build on this solid foundation and move forward, as it is a very fun comedy/drama from start to finish.

Episodes: 8.0

A very solid foundation with good stories and characters.

Video: 7.0

About what you would expect, a nice clean transfer, but a little soft.

Audio: 7.0

The stereo track comes across nice and presents the dialogue well.

Extras: 8.0

Fans of the series will appreciate the extras here, as they give more background information on the characters, and origins of the show.

Final Score: 7.8